{"id":77986,"date":"2025-03-04T16:00:04","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T16:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/?p=77986"},"modified":"2025-03-06T14:37:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T14:37:07","slug":"product-roadmap-best-practice-things-to-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-roadmap-best-practice-things-to-avoid\/","title":{"rendered":"Product Roadmap Best Practices – 11 Do\u2019s & Don\u2019t to Instantly Improve Your Roadmap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Product roadmap best practices are our bread and butter here at ProdPad, having built a top-quality product roadmap tool that uses THE BEST product roadmap format<\/a>. Heck, the majority of our blog content is focused on how to improve your product roadmapping capabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the authority voice on product roadmaps, we thought it was only right to clearly list out what you need to do within your roadmap to make it as effective as possible and work not just for you, but all your important stakeholders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Product roadmaps are your blueprint – your treasure map to a fantastic product – so they\u2019re pretty important to get right. Use this list of best practices to help you get there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, as useful as it can be to be told all the things you should <\/em>be doing, I think it\u2019s also important to be aware of the roadmapping practices you need to avoid. Because even if you\u2019re doing everything else right, adopting a single one of the bad <\/strong>practices can ruin all your hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why this list is so effective, and why it has the jump over any other product roadmap best practices article. We\u2019ll go over all the dos – and crucially, – all the don\u2019ts <\/strong>to ensure you\u2019re managing your roadmap in the best way possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of this as your list of things to avoid, sprinkled in with the steps you should be taking every time you use your product roadmap.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Disclaimer: <\/b>These tips apply to all types of product roadmaps, but as the creator of the <\/span>Now-Next-Later<\/span><\/a> roadmap, these best practices are going to be a touch more focused on this agile product roadmap format. I hope that\u2019s cool with you. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

11 product roadmap best practices to transform your roadmap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s our list of product roadmap best practices. The things you should be doing that can sometimes be overlooked or forgotten, and some of the faux pas that many smart, well-intentioned Product Managers make with their roadmaps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow this list, and you\u2019re guaranteed to have an excellent product roadmap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Product<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Product roadmap best practice 1: Don\u2019t <\/em>put a timeline on a product roadmap<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Focusing your roadmap around dates is seriously a bad move. We\u2019ll be real, we hate dates, and we hate timeline roadmaps. The reason for that is because having dates forces you to plan too far in advance. This makes you rigid and wedded to a visual timeline that might not play out how you thought, making it impossible to iterate, adapt, and be flexible in any way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re also not keen on the mindset that dates on your roadmap can creater. If you\u2019re constantly working to a deadline, that can make you more output-focused than outcome-focused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust get the release out so that we make the deadline\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not indicative of a good product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, we suggest using loose time horizons over hard release dates and deadlines. This organizes work by what needs to be done now, what you\u2019re working on next, and what demands attention later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If timelines have been embedded in your roadmap process till now, we\u2019ve got a whole article to help you remove the shackles of time and adopt an agile roadmap instead:<\/p>\n\n\n

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8 Steps to Convert Your Timeline Roadmap to a Now-Next-Later<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n Read now<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

Timelines and strict time frames should be a thing of the past. Try Now-Next-Later instead, and you\u2019ll:<\/p>\n\n\n\n